Secrets
A discreet receipt The next morning, Kip and Brox was summoned to the chamber of armor. It lay behind a huge double door of black wood in the end of a long corridor in the Eastern wing, at the second floor. The doors swung open, quickly and silently, when Kip and Brox were ten feet away. They could see Ludovic stand in the middle of the room, waiting. He was alone, and held a staff that he studied. He looked at the two men, nodded, and beaconed them inside. The double doors closed swiftly as soon as they had passed through. A great table stood beside him, with some items upon, among them a thin book and the map Brox had drawn, and another map. The room was big, and the walls were completely covered with closet doors of glass. Behind them lay a great variety of items, from staffs to amulets, to weapons of every kind, ropes, dices, bottles, boxes, mirrors, clothing, books, belts, armour, boots, shoes, capes. :written by Inkalill A silent talk "There," said the prince, gesturing toward the equipment. "I've provided you with everything you could possibly need on your quest." "But how can Brox carry all that?" asked Kip Adar. Then, seeing the other two glaring at him, he sighed. "Oh, yes, of course. I'll help him." Prince Ludovic noticed that Brox's eyes were fixed upon the staff. "Ah, do you like it?" he asked the little apprentice. "As you've probably guessed, this is yours. It's very magical and powerful. Kip will teach you how to use it." With a flourish, the prince presented the staff to Brox, who accepted it reverently. He held it as gently as one would hold a baby, his eyes shining. He actually had his own magic staff! Kip Adar's attitude was far different. The fox-wizard picked up a bottle, examined it closely, then frowned and set it back down. It contained only water. He had hoped that at least he could drown his sorrows in some good wine on this miserable journey. The prince spoke again. "I don't expect you two to carry all of these items, of course. You may pick and choose whichever items you wish. I suggest however that you each choose an amulet to wear. The amulets you see before you are very valuable. Each one has its own special magic power." The fox shrugged. "But, Your Majesty, how are we to know what we need when we don't know where we're going, nor what we're expected to accomplish?" Prince Ludovic smiled, but it was a dark smile that sent chills down the backs of the other two. "A good point, my friend Adar. I suppose this would be a good time for me to provide you with the details of your quest, now that we're alone and no one else can overhear." :written by '''Coop' The Orygat problem "Your official mission is" the Prince began, "to go to Azidaka. Visit Avaia, Alddan and the King's residence Sayora and build reconnaissance points. To do this you have to place one of these crystals on a central point in the city with a good areal connection." - Ludovic handed three shiny little crystal spheres over to Kip - "Furthermore find some guys with good connections to the King or whoever is mighty and important in Azidaka and let them drink this potion." - The prince gave Kip three little phioles - "This drink will make their consuments to compliable servants of the crystal's commands. They won't loose their own will, but when the crystals send out a command they will follow, and after that they won't remember what they have done." The prince grinned and asked: "You got that?!" Kip and Brox nodded. "Now to the first, critical and secret part of your mission: The Brotherhood of Sorcerors is a band that bases on the mutual trust and help of the three houses of Fox, of Serpent and of Wolf. Unfortunately I've heard recently that the House of Serpent seems to pursue it's own aims, and I fear it intends to take over the power upon the other houses of our brotherhood. At least they conceal a very important device from their sorceror companions. You heard about Orygat, the so-called massive metal, Brox?" "Awf cawse, Mylawd! It's way impawtant for chemistwy, but so rare dat A've never held it in mah hands!" "Yes," agreed the Prince, "it is very rare. If we had enough of it, we could create magic spells that would just blow the mountains away that protect the Fey against us. However it is very hard to find. But now the House of Serpent apparently developed a device to trace Orygat deposits but kept it secret. We have no idea how much Orygat the already mined and what they intend to do with it. That's your job: Find this out and get the Serpent's Orygat-tracing-device, if possible!" Brox looked shocked, but Kip just asked: "So this is a Chairn job? Just enter the depots of the House of Serpents here in this castle and pilfer this device?" "Oh no!" Ludovic grinned. "They aren't dumb! They shrouded it far away from here! In the South of Azidaka, in Medeia, at the westerm shore of the Kasedorian Strete they built a secret base on an island near Tanae called 'Tent Peg Island'." Kip looked slightly swamped. Brox simply unbarred his mouth. "Come on!" the Prince grinned a dark smile, "I know that you are quite foxy and tough! And I'm sure that Silvestre doesn't expect that I'll send some freshwater fellows after him. That's my - and your - advantage!" '':written by Gelyon Mission accepted Kip Adar rolled the three little crystal spheres around in his paws, and Brox found himself wondering about them. "Haw doo doze werk?" he asked. The prince stepped over to the equipment pile and selected a slender silver chain. Attached to the chain were three small amulets. Each one looked like the crystal spheres held by Kip. When Prince Ludovic brought the amulets closer, Brox could see that each sphere had a small rune carved upon it. "Anyone wearing this amulet necklace," the prince explained, "can be magically transported to one of the reconnaissance spheres. All you need to do is to squeeze one of the three spheres dangling from the necklace with your fingers. You'll be teleported to the reconnaissance sphere containing the same rune." He shrugged. "Of course, it doesn't work at the moment. The reconnaissance spheres must be placed and activated first. But once they're activated, they make it easy to travel from place to place. They may save you from getting sore feet." "More importantly," Kip observed, "they may save you from getting your throat cut." The prince laughed. "Yes, that's right. If you get into trouble, you can use the amulets to escape. So you see, this mission isn't as dangerous as it may sound. I'm giving you a way to get out of trouble if things go badly." Kip rubbed his furry chin, as if trying to decide whether to say something. After a long pause, he spoke in a slow, careful tone. "Even so, sire, this is a hard and risky mission. We live to serve you, of course, but still ... for a mission such as this ... I'm sure there must be some sort of reward?" Ludovic glared for a long moment at the fox, but when he answered, his voice was surprisingly gentle. "Kip Adar," he said, "you've been loyal and useful. If you return to me with the Orygat tracing device, I will be able to defeat the Fey. Once that has been accomplished, you have my royal word that you will accompany me to the castle of the Fey king, and there you may take as much of the Fey king's treasure as you can carry." "An' me too, lawd?" asked Brox. The prince chuckled. "Yes, you too, Brox." Kip Adar's dark eyes glittered. With a sack full of gold and diamonds from a king's hoard, he could retire in luxury for the rest of his days. He wouldn't even need Ludovic's support any longer. He could leave the prince's castle and settle down on an estate in the countryside, or along the seacoast. The fox bowed to the prince. "My lord," he announced, "we hereby accept your royal mission." :written by '''Coop' Category:RPG